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The first 10 minutes of Arsenal's game against Wigan Athletic on Monday could not possibly have gone worse. In addition to the two goals that they gave up, leading to Wigan's 2-1 victory, midfielder Mikel Arteta had to be substituted out of the match with an ankle injury. His status for Arsenal's next game against Chelsea and their season as a whole is unclear, but it doesn't sound as if he'll be playing on Saturday.
In his post-match press conference, Arsene Wenger's comments on the injury were ominous.
It is an ankle problem. It looks quite a serious one. We have to scan it tomorrow, it is too early to say tonight. But it doesn't look a little ankle sprain. It is a serious one.
Even if Arteta only had a mild sprain, he would struggle to play on the weekend against Chelsea. He was replaced by Aaron Ramsey in the Wigan match, and the young Welsh international did not put in a terrific performance. He will almost certainly take Arteta's place in the starting XI against Chelsea, and he will be expected to show much more in that game than he did on Monday.
For more on Arteta, head over to Arsenal blog The Short Fuse.